I've installed it twice in the past. Both
times opened it, poked about, got annoyed and deleted it again.

I can't offer
anything more than that really on the cheap. I use Kontakt & Camel Alchemy for sample
abuse these days, neither of free, but I get on with them far better than anything else
I've used software wise and I've been through all the free/cheap options.

If I
could code for toffee I'd build myself a emulation of my old Yamaha 5000. But I can't. So
meh.

If you don't get on with the free ones (and I don't blame you, that's why I suggested
Kontakt), I should check out demos of budget soft samplers before going the hardware
route. Unless you're really pining for the sound and feel of vintage hardware you'll get
more bang for your buck, and less hassle.

...which was just recommended
in the "Free software" thread and looks a lot nicer...

That looks great. It does something no other soft
sampler does- detects the sample's pitch and maps it for you. This was a super feature on
the Typhoon OS.

Kontakt is the best soft sampler. Avid Structure is also
pretty nifty though not as comprehensive.

I would avoid hardware. As BG415
said, it's a lot of hassle (faffing around with disks, SCSI, tiny screen) for a minor
effect on sound quality, an effect that you can easily recreate with plugins. Kontakt has
a built in Akai MPC and Emu SP1200 emulation, both of which get you all of the aliasing
and transposing artefacts that you'll remember from the past. Sounds quite like a TX16W
actually!

Furthermore, there is just SO much library out there for it from free to serious pro
prices and everything in between - undoubtedly the biggest library support of any sampler
at the moment. Even the GBs of library it ships with is very good and more than enough to
get you well and truly started.

But Kontakt also reads most of the popular
hardware and software sampler formats as well further expanding what's on offer.

It's a shame the OP missed the recent sale - I just picked up K5 for $150 which, IMO, is
a bargain...

But then, my background is paying £3,000+ for a lump of hardware
that shipped with four floppies ... and that's before buying drives, messing with SCSI
voodoo, installing RAM (at an eye watering few £hundred for each stick), etc.. Easy not
to have much change out of £5,000!!

But
then, my background is paying £3,000+ for a lump of hardware that shipped with four
floppies ... and that's before buying drives, messing with SCSI voodoo, installing RAM (at
an eye watering few £hundred for each stick), etc.. Easy not to have much change out of
£5,000!!